An Ontario man and 17-year-old boy dressed as law enforcement officers targeted and robbed undocumented immigrants in at least two cities, threatening them with deportation if they didn’t hand over cash, Pomona police said Friday.

“We’ve had three victims come forward that are undocumented immigrants and, thankfully they did (come forward), because that’s how we learned who was doing this,” said Pomona police Capt. Michael Ellis. “They will be a vital part of the investigation and anybody else that will believe they have been a victim of this, they don’t have anything to fear. We’re looking for victims in order to get justice for this crime.”

Both the police and community groups were troubled by the crimes, because such acts erode faith in law enforcement.

“Trust is so important,” said Angela Sanbrano, an immigrant rights advocate. “Trust in the police and in reporting crime.”

Spanish-speaking immigrants targeted

The investigation was launched about two weeks ago based on the information provided by the victims, he said. It appears Andres Sanchez, 20, and the 17-year-old, whose city of residence was not given, were targeting mostly Spanish-speaking immigrants.

Sanchez and the boy would drive around in a sedan outfitted with red lights and sirens, officials said. The pair would wear clothing similar to police uniforms and had police equipment on their belts.

According to victims, the pair would follow people through the city and then pulled them over in their phony police vehicle, officials said.

If the victims indicated they had come to the country illegally, Sanchez and his cohort would threaten the victims with deportation if they didn’t hand over their cash, police officials said.

Through an investigation, Sanchez and the teen were found in Fontana, where police say they had just targeted another immigrant.

Sanchez was booked into the Pomona City Jail and the teen was taken to Juvenile Hall.

Authorities have been able to link the duo to similar crimes in Pomona and Fontana and are looking into a possible connection to an incident in Ontario.

The Pomona Police Department is looking for additional victims and witnesses regarding this series of robberies and ask anyone with information to call Detective Chris Blank at 909-802-7462. There are also officers who speak Spanish able to take reports, Ellis said.

‘We’re out to protect them’

Pomona police Capt. Ellis said he realized how important it was to catch the suspects.

“That’s why we investigated it quickly and put a lot of resources on it quickly,” he said. “I think the first victims came forward with the understanding that they trust their police department and that we’re out to protect them. It’s also our goal to maintain that trust with the public.”

Sabrano, the immigrant-rights activist who is vice president of the Latino/ Latina Roundtable of the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona Valley, agrees.

Criminals “are hoping people will be afraid of reporting crime because they are afraid of police,” she said.

Sabrano said that crimes such as these are why SB 54 – the so-called ‘sanctuary state’ bill – is so important.

The bill, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will prohibit California and local law enforcement agencies from carrying out federal immigration-enforcement activities such as carrying out interrogations and making arrests.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of several national and international news events. She’s worked for media outlets serving Southern California readers covering education, local government, entertainment and all things nerd including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three and lover of all things adorable.